FIFA Unveils Technical Study Group For World Cup 2026™

FIFA has unveiled the Technical Study Group (TSG) for the FIFA World Cup 2026™, which will provide cutting-edge analysis of all matches at the competition while deepening and broadening understanding of the game worldwide.

Guided by FIFA Chief of Global Football Development Arsène Wenger, the TSG consists of Otto Addo (Ghana), Tobin Heath (USA), Jürgen Klinsmann (Germany), Jayne Ludlow (Wales), Michael O’Neill (Northern Ireland), Gilberto Silva (Brazil), Jon Dahl Tomasson (Denmark), Paulo Wanchope (Costa Rica), Aron Winter (Netherlands) and Pablo Zabaleta (Argentina). The panel will be led by FIFA Senior Football Expert Pascal Zuberbühler and Lead of Football Performance Insights (FPI) Tom Gardner, and will be supported by a team of football analysts, data engineers, data scientists, and performance analysts based on-site in Miami and Dallas, and off-site in Manchester (United Kingdom).

During the tournament, FIFA will share the most modern metrics and performance data in FIFA World Cup™ history with the worldwide TV and online audience, as well as with the participating teams and their players. Developed by FIFA’s FPI team and Mr Wenger, the Enhanced Football Intelligence service will offer new and exciting insights to enrich the coverage and analysis of every game at the tournament through a unique set of both in- and post-match visuals presented as augmented reality and traditional graphics.

“The Technical Study Group helps identify trends in the game, prepare future generations for football’s development and contribute to making the sport more exciting by highlighting the qualities players will need in the future,” said Mr Wenger.

“With an unprecedented level of high-quality data, the TSG will be able to describe, analyse and interpret what is happening on the pitch in a way that inspires both technical experts and football fans. We are not only collecting more data than before but also trying to strike the right balance between technical expertise and data. At the same time, we want to share our technical observations in real time during the tournament.”

The TSG will analyse all 104 matches at this year’s FIFA World Cup from a unique tactical position at the stadium or their dedicated performance suite in Miami. Either way, they will have access to six video angles and thousands of data points in real time during each match. The players crowned in the tournament awards will also be selected by the TSG members.

The TSG’s home is the FIFA Training Centre, an innovative platform available to players and coaches worldwide. For the first time at the FIFA World Cup, fans will also be able to access real-time insights from the TSG via the FIFA Training Centre’s social media accounts and YouTube channel.